Pakistan

Current issues and comments...

Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the majority party, withdrawn National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)to avoid voting on the bill by the parliament. It had to been done as it became distinctly clear that the game of numbers was not in their favor and that the bill was doomed to be rejected by the majority. This became obvious once one of the major coalition partners, Muttehidda Qaumi Movement(MQM), declared that it would vote against the bill.

NRO indemnifies a large number of politicians and bureaucrats with respect to cases of large scale pending in the courts on the pretext that the cases were politically motivated to victimize the opposition. The bill very clearly violates the equality of justice and provides unlimited relief to the beneficiaries.

Surprisingly, the opposition parties did not insist on the presentation of the bill. Had the opposition, along with MQM, insisted on its presentation, PPP had no choice but to do so and face the defeat. It would have been far better if the bill was presented and voted against rather than its withdrawal. This would have certainly been a rightful expression of the intentions of the parliamentarians as to who were for such exceptions of indemnities and who were against it. But, perhaps, there is some tacit understanding between the opposition and the ruling alliance not to push each other to the wall irrespective of the national interests.